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Once you see them, you know it’s that time again. The orange and green flags, gently waving in the wind- or heat wave- across campus. All across the campus, sitting atop the highest of seven hills in Tallahassee, FL, those flag signal a special time of year. Homecoming at Florida A&M University.

Many schools, colleges and universities celebrate homecomings. It’s when current students, faculty and staff welcome back those who have come before them to the campus. There are many speeches, tours and events. At many schools, there is a football game that caps off the week.

Still, I tend to think an HBCU’s homecoming is a unique thing of beauty. Granted, I am a biased alum and lifelong Rattler. Even now in 41st year of living, the excitement of homecoming is contagious. I have my itinerary planned and outfits coordinated. Only those affiliated with a historically black college and university can truly feel me. Yes, the music, food, fashion and football are spectacular. But there’s something more than those qualities. What’s extra special is that no matter if you went there or not, you’re truly one family and that’s felt throughout the Homecoming. It’s what keeps me coming back again and again.

Cover from the media guide for Swimming & Diving, 2009-2010. [See original object] FSU is gearing up for another semester to start in just a few weeks. Student-athletes, however, are already back at work. The FSU Volleyball team will play its first match this Friday and the Swimming and Diving teams are back in action by mid-September. These two sports are the last of a long project for the Digital Library Center, the digitization of all the sports media guides for FSU teams that the Archives currently holds.

The sports media guide is essentially the press kit for that season’s team. It includes all the facts and figures announcers seem to effortlessly sprout out as you listen to commentary at sporting events. The Swimming/Diving Team media guides go back to the 1970s whereas the Volleyball guides start in the 1980s. Do you have media guides to help fill…

We’ve picked the 2016-17 Color of Hockey All-Star team, but who would be on the greatest team of players of color of all time? My choices span eras – from a time when goalies stood up and sticks were actually made of all wood – to today’s fast-paced, high-tech game. You’ll recognize some of the players on the team while […]

So, I signed up again for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. Again. I’m not sure why I’m being a glutton for punishment. I’ve signed up every year since becoming a member of the bookworm-based social media network. And every year I’m shorter than millimeter of the goal I choose.

What’s crazy is that lack of reading is not the reason why. Between my Kindle and Nook app for Android, I read soooooo many books! I also work in a library, so I have more access to books there. (I am getting my book hording under control – I promise.) My goals are usual between 60-100 books. I’m sure I’m getting 60, at least. And that’s just with doing a quick-and-dirty on the bus or on the john. Pun intended. And despite with all that abundant reading, every year I log back into Goodreads and the failure of meeting the challenge greets me.

Why? Because I’m forgetful and lazy. Yep. Simple as that. Sooooo, despite the fact that this is about a book challenge, the real issues are so much bigger than saying to random Goodreads nerd I read 3.5 more books than them. It’s about using tools like this reading challenge to clean the mess that quick-and-dirty leaves. I want to finish goals, even small, meaningless ones. Because just simple things like straightening up my room before work or ticking a small box to show I read Teaching the Boss can provide healthy habits that lead to bigger and better things. And those are good goals in 2017 and beyond.

Wish me luck!

P.S. I’ve got five books on my goal so far. BWWM romance at its worst lol.

The Tarpon Club began during the early 1920s as the Florida State College for Women (FSCW) Life Saving Corps. The Life Saving Corps began holding exhibitions in the Montgomery Gym indoor pool demonstrating aquatic skills during the 1930’s. These exhibitions featured form swimming, figure swimming, speed swimming, lifesaving techniques, diving, and canoe handling. In the spring of 1937, members of the Corps under the direction of Betty Washburn formed the Tarpon Club, choosing the tarpon fish as its mascot due to its reputation of being an acrobat of Florida waters. The club presented its first “water pageant” in the fall of that year featuring swimming stroke demonstrations and floating…